


Kaito Puri: Tsubame

by UmiHoshi



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: 1940, 1940s, AU, Alternate Universe - 1940s, London, M/M, Multiple chapters, Wordcount: 10.000-30.000, alternative universe, comes with drawings, phantom thief
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-20
Updated: 2015-07-28
Packaged: 2018-04-05 08:05:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4172214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UmiHoshi/pseuds/UmiHoshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a Prince of Tennis Alternative Universe in the 1940′s, featuring Tezuka Kunimitsu as a Rikkai London Times reporter, on the chase of England’s newest sensation:<br/>A phantom Thief by the name ‘Tsubame’</p><p>it features many beloved Prince of Tennis characters in a new role,<br/>including Fuji as a photographer, Atobe as wealthy business man and Yuuta as a police officer. <br/>It comes with drawings to bring the story to life as well.</p><p>a story of mystery, adventure, family and love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1st Flight: Meeting under the Moonlight

_ _

_February 12th 1955, Lundy_

_Second press_

 

_Where should I begin with this story?_

_I, of all people, should know it best, no?_

_For this is my story. The story of a young reporter and an unforgettable meeting._

_If I tell you the name of ‘phantom thief the Swallow’, I don't doubt some of you might remember that name. Though I will not be as vain as to believe that the real story will ring a bell immediately._

_Actually, I believe that there are only few who know the truth. For instance, no one these days recalls that his true name was 'Tsubame'. For both he and I were Japanese. Something no longer very acceptable in the London of these days._

_But I'm drifting off. Let's start at the start. It should be a little longer than 15 years ago._

_The day where a young reporter met a phantom thief._

 

**Meeting under the moonlight.**

_January 6th 1940, London_

 

"Tezuka!" a heavy voice shrieked. Said person was sitting behind a desk, his pen in his mouth, staring at a halve full paper. His gaze moved to the door as he recognized the voice.

"Sanada...?"

The man in the door opening looked somewhat excited for his normal doing. He slammed on the desk.

He was the one in charge of working all the people in the right direction without complaint, so to say. A job he was very good at.

The current location is the Rikkai London Times. A daily newspaper that values facts over opinions and will go to far length to find those facts.

Tezuka Kunimitsu is one of their employees. A job he had taken with the reasons of being independent and on the move a lot.

People say he is a person who can handle a lot. Though Tezuka himself wouldn’t really describe himself as a very ‘adventurous’ type.

"The Big Ben. I want you on the scene! Hurry up." He practically pushed Tezuka out of his office.

Not quite knowing what his superior was talking about, Tezuka just let the man push pen, paper and camera in his hands.

It was moments like this when a 1000 questions would rush through a regular reporter’s head.

But Tezuka wasn’t one to retort. And Sanada wasn’t one to listen.

"err.... I see. I'll go then."

A little out of his routine because of Sanada, Tezuka grabbed his coat.

 

Something going on at the Big Ben? Tezuka didn't expect much out of it. After all, there were far more important things going on in the world right now.

There was war. Germany has had free game, because of the appeasement politics of both England and France. But it had gone too far and since September, the war was declared.

He doubts that the Big Ben had any connection to these important events.

Or at least, he hoped it didn’t, like anyone would.

War is a very unpleasant thing and Tezuka wasn’t hoping for it to come any closer than it already was…

Ah. Perhaps the reconstruction was finished, because of the fire in October 1934?

 

But as he arrived at the scene, he saw a large amount of police officers. A little surprised, Tezuka tried to converse with one of them. But only to be told to go away.

Well that figures.

The police and the press were like ancient rivals:

One trying to keep facts from surfacing to the public. The other trying to reveal as much as they can.

Tezuka noticed that it was not the Big Ben that was of concern, but rather, a small museum located next to it. What could have happened? Perhaps a murder scene....

As a reporter, it was very unlikely for Tezuka to give up, and so, he searched for an entrance into the building.

Scanning his eyes around for both something he could use and avoiding the angry eyes of any officer, his eyes fell on a narrow alleyway.  
The type he had gotten far too familiar with in his career. Dark and smelling of sewer and rotten garbage.

With a sigh, he braved to head over to it.

There, with little trouble, he managed to work his way up on an unsurveillanced fire case.

 

Inside, it was damp and pitch black. An outage?

It smelled like oil paint and dust.

The floor creaked under his feet with the slightest movement.

He held his breath with every creak, trying to not betray his location any more than necessary.

He heard ruckus outside. Had something happened?

'The tower!' he heard.

Dang it! He should have stayed focused on the tower after all!

He made way for the door, but it proved to be quite a task in the darkness. It was already late and the only place to enlighten the area was a window.

Tezuka moved towards it, to open its old curtains.

But as he wished to do so, the window blew open on its own. A strong gust of winter wind entered, making Tezuka pinch his eyes. It was cold. But somehow, the wind felt very soft as well. Like it was somehow.... Foreboding something....

 

"My...." He heard a soft voice from behind him. Tezuka froze to the ground. He was not alone anymore.

But the sound of the voice was not hostile. Quite cheery, actually.

It wasn't a police member either. But it sent shivers down his spine, none the less.

"It seems you're not part of the police. Sightseeing?"

Tezuka dared to turn his head. In the dusk of the moonlight he could notice a figure. It was perhaps nothing more but a youngster in his eyes, judging on his height and shape. His voice was rather feminine as well. But Tezuka could detect a long black cape and a white mask which he hid his face with.

Slim grey gloves fitted around his fingers. A small red tie that almost made him look a bit endearing.

And two cheeky eyes shimmering faintly behind the mask.

"If you're not with the police, would you be so kind as to stand slightly closer to the door? I'm a little busy." Indeed, the boy seemed to be fussing with a lock of what seemed a safe.

His feet hardly made a sound on the old floor. If Tezuka didn’t have a firm disbelieve in ghosts, he’d swear he had just met one.

"Who... are you?" Tezuka dared to ask. He could hear a small chuckle.

"You came here, not knowing? My my, quite interesting." A soft click was heard and the boy opened the safe. Inside where many things, seemingly of great value, judging on how they shimmered in the moonlight. There were also paintings.

But the boy took nothing more but a simple ring, not even seeming of much worth.

Tezuka could see a clear blue sapphire twinkle on its top, though.

Without breaking much more sweat or bothering to even close the safe, the masked person head back for the window.

"o-oi, wait!"

"Hn?" The boy turned his head to Tezuka. "Are you after all planning on stopping me," he glanced at the camera, ", Reporter-san?”

"No.. err... I...... who are you?" Tezuka just repeated.

He smirked, even chuckled for a moment, and jumped on the window-frame. "Have you... ever heard what a phantom thief is?" He asked.

Tezuka was in a daze. He couldn't answer him. He weakly managed to press the button of the camera, mostly out of instinct. His aim couldn't be more off... But perhaps he'd have some use to it later.

The thief smiled, seeing as to how perplexed Tezuka was and jumped out of the window.

"There he is! After him!" Tezuka heard faintly from outside. He could slightly feel his muscles working again. He head towards the emergency exit with a bit of a wobbly pace. The floor was still whining underneath his feet, but he had to hurry before the police would rush in and see him as a suspect.

 

Back on ground level, he noticed something that wasn’t there before in the alleyway.

Rather than ‘seeing it’, he ran into it face first:

A thin wire. Invisible to the naked eye. Spun tightly passed him, into the alley.

Tezuka could see something lazily dropped into a dumpster.

A shapeless bag of hay, wrapped in a long black piece of fabric.

There was a face scribbled on the bag.

“Really now…”

Was this what the thief had used for distraction?

Letting a bag with a black ‘cape’ slide down a wire, to put the police’s attention elsewhere.

It was childishly simple, but Tezuka had to admit it was cunning.

And a word he was starting to think fitted the masked boy well surfaced in his mind: Very cheeky.

 

What now? It was already late. Should he just head home?

But the adrenaline drove him back towards the office. He had to write. Write what has just happened.

He had the keys, so he got himself inside easily. It was harder to find the light button. Seeing as to how dark the office was, he felt another chill.

It had been so thrilling to stand eye in eye with a thief. Anything could have happened in that dark room. He didn't seem to have been armed and the boy had even looked quite relaxed.... But you never know.

Tezuka sat behind his desk, uneasily biting his pen. He considered what he could and could not write. After all, if he wrote too much, he'd be suspicious of being his cohort.

Tezuka kicked underneath his desk, slightly frustrated. But what he kicked didn't feel like the wall.

"Puri."

"n-Niou!? Were you sleeping underneath my desk again!?" Tezuka shot backwards. The sleepy face of one of the editors appeared from underneath the desk.

"It's so much more comfortable than mine or Yagyuu's.” If comfort is the problem, sleep in a bed!

“.. Back from the scene? How was it?"

"ah...that's err..."

Niou grinned. "You've seen him, huh?"

Tezuka moved back to the desk, leaning both his elbows on it. "Just who was that? He claimed to be a phantom thief, but..."

Niou sat on the desk. "Kaitou Tsubame.... Up until now, he's made a move 3 times. Every time he did so, he has left a notice at the police with time and date, yet they couldn't catch 'im. His intentions aren't really all that clear. I guess he's just a plain thief like all the other bunch... but he's a damned flashy and good one."

On that moment, the other editor, Yagyuu, entered. "Niou-kun!"

As he saw Tezuka, he frowned a little troubled. "Tezuka-kun... Has he caused you any trouble again?"

"ah, no, not really.... this time..."

Yagyuu pushed his hand against the back of Niou's head and made him bow along with himself. "I apologize for him being an idiot."

"ah.... That's alright." Tezuka frowned. Not like he wasn’t used to it.

Niou was a very ‘free’ person. Even Sanada couldn’t grasp him to get to work. He did whatever he wanted, where he wanted, when he wanted.

Why was someone like that still working here? He had an amazingly keen eye for detail. If something was out of the usual, he dived at it like a hawk. A quality that comes very handy as editor.

What he did besides that, though…. No one really knows.

On the other hand, Yagyuu was a rather stiff, but polite person.

He acted a lot older then he really was, despite being roughly the same age as Tezuka.

His work was diligent and straight forward.

Also, he was the only one remotely capable of not letting Niou run into 5 disasters at the same time.

"We'll be taking our leave. Please take good care of yourself, Tezuka-kun." Yagyuu shoved Niou out of the room.

Tezuka stared back at the empty sheet of paper in front of him.

"Tsubame...." he mumbled.

He took his pen and wrote:

 

_' **Swallow's Flight.**_

_January 6th 1940, London_

_At the clock tower of Westminster, at a little past 20:00, he was spotted. The great thief Tsubame who has yet to fail his ambitions. -'_


	2. 2nd Flight: Starting the Chase

_ _

_January 7th 1940, London_

 

The London Times came out freshly this morning. Within it was Tezuka's article. Perhaps not on the front page, but it had a fair amount of space on the second. Tezuka received a friendly pat on the back by Yagyuu and a 'V' from Niou. Sanada was also very contempt about his work.

"Good job, Tezuka."

"It wasn't that wonderful, sir." Tezuka grunted. He hadn't slept well and he wasn't able to write as much as he had wanted.

"No need to be modest, Tezuka. In fact, I had a talk with the director."

"With Yukimura-san? Is his health alright to work?"

Sanada paused over the painful subject, then laughed it off. "Yukimura is just fine, he won't die so easily!" Sanada's words had no strength to them, though.

He slapped Tezuka on the shoulder. "He asked me to put you on the case, Tezuka. You'll be following Tsubame's every footstep from now on."

Tezuka stared at Sanada. "Are you serious?....I mean, it would be convenient to have work for as long as he's on the move, but.... I'm not all that keen on thieves. He might be flashy, but stealing is wrong."

"It pulls attention, so we shouldn't complain too much. Whether you agree with his methods or not doesn't really matter, right? It'll help you stay objective, even. I'm sure I can leave this in your hands, Tezuka. Good luck." Sanada left before Tezuka could bring anything into it.

 

Tezuka sighed, cursing himself for being timid on a moment like this.

He got up from his chair and grabbed his camera. He left his office and walked to a grand massive white door. He knocked it.

"Inui?" It was silent for a while. Then, the door slowly creaked open and a pair of glasses showed themselves from within the darkness of the room.

"How may I help you?" Inui's solemn voice sounded. Tezuka wondered if Inui would have had the choice between developing pictures or being an undertaker.

"Can you develop this picture?" Tezuka handed the camera to the fellow bespectacled man.

"Roger that." And he disappeared behind the door again.

The picture would be fine for now, but Tezuka felt a little uncomfortable, having to check deeper into this case. Where to start?

Niou had told him that last night was Tsubame's 3rd strike. Tezuka decided to grab the phone and dialed for the police office.

A rather nervous man under the name of Syuichirou Oishi took the phone.

"I'm sorry, that information is restricted." He said in a high pitch, after hearing Tezuka's demand.

Tezuka grunted, annoyed.

"Alright alright, I'll tell!" Oishi yelped.

A frown appeared on Tezuka's face. That had been easy.....

And so, Oishi started telling him about the previous 2 cases. He also promised to mail a copy of the notices.

As Tezuka waited for both the picture and the notices, he browsed through the archives of the Times. It seems that Tsubame is a man of tricks. All cases also show that he is only aimed at one piece and leaves the rest of the art and value for what it is.

When Tezuka got the notices in, he also found out that, accept for the time and date, he talks in riddles over what he shall steal.

Inui's picture came in a day after, but it really did seem like Tezuka hadn't aimed very well. It had quite an amount of motion blur as well.

He sighed and threw the file-work on his desk. It seems that he had hit a dead track and could now only wait for Tsubame to strike again.

But then, his eyes fell on the notice once more.

Something seemed odd, and yet familiar to them.

He stared at it for a while, wondering what it could possibly be. Then, he saw a paper with his own writing. Comparing them, he noticed some strange resemblance....... Could it perhaps be-...?

Tezuka got up and grabbed his coat.

"Is there somewhere you're heading for, Tezuka-kun?" Yagyuu asked as he passed him.

"Ah.... The university."

 

Arriving there, Tezuka talked his way into the archives. Eventually, he found what he had been searching for. But it gave him a sore look on his face.

The amount of people who had studied writing Roman from Kanji was to be neglected. And most of them would be over 40 years by now, with one exclusion: Himself.

Tezuka sighed and head back for the office. From there, he called to other universities within England. Still no luck. Perhaps he should give up on it. He could have learned abroad...

It was finally a dead end. Or so he believed, until Niou came in.

"A love letter came in for you, Tezuka-sempai." he chirped.

"Love.....letter?" Tezuka frowned. Niou smacked a small piece of paper on the desk and skipped off. Tezuka recognized the piece of paper:

Tsubame's notice.

 

_January 14th 1940, London_

The museum where Tsubame would strike was a well-known museum. And all attention was placed on the pride of the vicinity: a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. The surveillance on the painting had tripled, 4 guards were stationed around it. No one would be able to get within a radius of 2 meter.

But Tezuka also noticed that aside from guards, there were surprisingly many spectators along with it. Perhaps people who wished to see the portrait a last time....

Concerning that, some of the museum staff looked quite satisfied. Tsubame was like a free advertisement.

The large crowd managed to push Tezuka to the back of the group. A little helpless, he just stood there.

Then, his eyes fell on another person, standing away from the crowd.

It was a young man, perhaps a few years younger then Tezuka. He had to admit he looked quite beautiful.

The boy was not very impressed by the crowd and was eyeing a ring inside a vitrine. His narrowed gaze showed that he was keen on detail.

Time was passing by. It was 16:00. Luck was against Tsubame. It was pouring outside, so from his wet footsteps, he would be easy to follow. Also, the crowd would hinder him. The police was confident.

Then, the moment came.

An outage, similar to previous time.

People panicked anxious and excited. Tezuka realized that the police had been wrong. The rain clouds would make it impossible for much sunlight to lighten the place. And rather then Tsubame, the crowd was giving the guards and police a hard time.

The outage didn't last very long though. Perhaps only 3 minutes had passed.

The lights were back on again and to everyone's surprise, the painting was still perfectly in place.

Among the ruckus, a scream was heard. A young woman point towards the wall. The beautiful jewel pendant which would have supposed to be there was replaced with a notice:

 

 

From outside as well, shouting was heard. 'Tsubame! Over there!' Was to be heard.

Rather then along with the pushing crowd, Tezuka rushed to a nearby window. From the second floor he indeed saw, in the sky, Tsubame was flying a glider. Tezuka grabbed his camera.

But the moment Tezuka made his picture, he also heard a gunshot. One of the agents had grabbed his gun to shoot the glider down.

But....... Was it only the glider hit?

 


	3. 3rd Flight: Bird from the Sky

_January 14th 1940, London_

 

Tezuka had seen it happen clearly. From his location, he hoped he had been the only one. But where to go from now?

Again, Tezuka took the fire case, wondering if this pattern would someday get him into trouble.

He had a fair idea of where Tsubame might have fallen down. Working his way through the rain, he tried to leave the scene unnoticed.

From there, he head towards the Tower bridge.

Looking left and right, Tezuka felt a certain rush in his chest. He had only seen the thief in action twice, but knowing he might be wounded made Tezuka feel uneasy.

Tezuka ran. Not exactly knowing where to head for, as long as it was a clue to Tsubame's location and wellbeing.

After not too long, he found it, to his distress: a trail of blood.

Following, he walked parallel to the shore. 'What if he had fallen into the water?' was the thought that crept Tezuka's mind.

He grunted in stress. The trail had stopped. From here on, he couldn't follow. Then again, neither could the police if they'd come here. But Tezuka was almost certain that Tsubame was wounded, which was frustrating.

There was no use but to give up. Tezuka decided to head home. In deep thought, his feet made him drag forward. Something broke his thought though.

for a short moment, a sudden pressing warm thing against his chest and a soft 'hmpf!'

Tezuka realized he had run into someone.

"Err.. my apolo-....." Tezuka stopped himself and eyed the person in front of him.

"Ah! no, I'm sorry. It was my fault." The boy rubbed his front head, which he had bumped.

"You're.....from before.." Tezuka recalled. The boy he had seen in the museum....

Why had it struck him as odd back then? It wasn't very unnatural for someone to spectate art. And if it's someone not very interested in Tsubame, all the more.

Besides, the ring the boy had been watching wasn't the item which was stolen.

"erm... have we met?" The boy looked a little troubled. He was frail and petite for a male. The narrowed eyes he had before were now more open. Penetrating blue. His face was pretty female too. Tezuka couldn't deny that he had mistaken him for a woman, back at the museum. Though a little embarrassing, Tezuka found he looked quite charming, despite looking like a drowned cat in the rain.

"ah...at the mu-" Tezuka noticed that the boy hadn't much attention to him, though.

He pointed at the camera around Tezuka's neck.

"Sightseeing?" the boy smiled.

Something snapped in the back of Tezuka's head. He couldn't quite place it though.

"Ah.... erm, can I?" Tezuka held the camera up.

"Hn? Sure, why not?" The boy showed a charming smile.

Tezuka aimed. Watching the boy through the lens, he seemed..... well, Tezuka didn't quite know what to think of it, but he decided it was better not to forget him.

He took the picture and smiled satisfied.

"I'll be taking you along to Swiss." Tezuka mumbled to him, keeping up the act that he was indeed sightseeing.

"I see. That's nice." The boy clasped his hands. "Well, if you don't mind me. Good luck in Swiss." The boy turned off and left.

 

 

Maybe Tezuka just wasn't too well cut for this work. He was starting to see things.

Yagyuu was so kind as to offer him a towel as he returned to the office. He sat behind his desk and stared at the ceiling.

"Puri?" It sounded from the window.

"Hello, Niou. This is the 3rd floor and it's pouring, you are aware?"

"Yeah I know. What happened? You look sore." Niou climbed in.

Tezuka sighed. "To be honest, I don't really know."

"Something happened at the scene?" Niou fussed with a plant on Tezuka's desk, watering it with a wet sleeve. Yagyuu entered the office as well, wondering how Tezuka was doing.

"Hnn.... Perhaps it's because I let my guard down."

"uh?" Niou and Yagyuu stared at each other.

"Yagyuu, can you pass me that note?"

"Very well..." Yagyuu did as told. He grabbed Niou by the neck and dragged him along. "We won't bother you..."

 

Tezuka dialed the phone number written on the note as he got home. Again, the nervous Oishi took the phone.

"I'm Tezuka from the daily Times. I wish to talk to the agent who shot a gun at tonights scene."

"wah! err... I-I can't let you-"

"hn?" Tezuka grunted.

"alright! I'll get him for you."

If only all people were as easy as Oishi, Tezuka thought.

After waiting for a while, a man with a laid back voice took the phone. he introduced himself as Oshitari Yuushi.

He asked about the scene. Oshitari was a lot less easy then Oishi had been though. Tezuka had to press him.

Oshitari, in the end, explained him that he had tried to shoot the glider, rather then Tsubame himself. He didn't seem to be aware that he had hit Tsubame.

They also hadn't found him after Tsubame had land on the ground.

"Where did you learn to shoot so well, though? It almost seemed like you knew where he would be at that moment." Was it a conspiracy? Did Oshitari perhaps have a connection to Tsubame? For starters, was police allowed to shoot an unarmed thief? Tezuka caught himself to be far more anticipating, considering Tsubame, then he had wanted.

Oshitari sighed, though. "Give me a break. I'm with the police. I'd be in trouble if I couldn't shoot like that..."

Tezuka admitted to himself that he had little knowledge of just how skilled a police agent should be with a gun. But Oshitari's aim, even though he had missed... it had been too good.

"Who had thought you to shoot so well, though?"

Oshitari grunted. "A man named Atobe Keigo. Can I go to bed now? it's past 3..."

Tezuka decided he'd better give up. He was very tired himself too.

But the name of Atobe...... It rang a bell from somewhere.

 

Atobe Keigo was a very well respected man. He seemed to have his hands in many areas. sponsors, stockings, things like that. And to top it, a Japanese.

Hated for his nationality, but feared for his power.

It was a dead lead, though. What would a middle aged businessman have to do with a thief? Tezuka sat backwards in his chair. He tried to have a short nap, but it seemed to be tougher then usual. He felt like he was very close to the truth... but also like he was just circling around things.

He got up to go to the bathroom. Maybe a shower could clear his mind.

What were the puzzle pieces he had in his hands?

'Tsubame, a thief. He couldn't be older then 20. Probably Japanese origin, seeing from his handwriting. There's no record of him learning roman writing at an academy, though. And concluding from his handwriting only... a little too shabby, perhaps.

His thievery is aimed. He doesn't take more then he needs. Also, it seems he likes to show off, in a way. He struck only 5 times by now, but the population seems to be interested in him.

Then there was the note at the last robbery.... 'Every art is of equal value'. Is he an art appreciator? Or was he just trying to mock the police?

Things that might or might not have to do with him: ........'

Tezuka's train of thoughts stopped for a moment.

That boy.... was there a connection? Tezuka had just so happened to notice him, among many others. it was pure coincidence.

There was probably no chance of tracking him either, nor ever meeting him again.

 

He left the shower, gazing annoyed at the clock, telling him it was already close to 8 in the morning.

He heard something at the front door. Still rubbing his hair dry, he opened it.

On the floor was a newspaper. A local one, not the Times.

**__ **

**_ 'Young lady challenges Tsubame.' _ **


	4. 4th Flight: Cold Night

_January 15th 1940, London_

The house Tezuka entered reeked unpleasantly sweet. It was a large and old building. The house of Osakada Tomoka was clearly set to the liking of an adolescent lady.

And as Tezuka met Tomoka, he found out that she was indeed..... adolescent.

"Kya! I just can't wait to finally meet Tsubame-sama! He's like my hero! I just can't wait!"

For 2 hours straight after that, she just kept on blabbing about everything and nothing. About how she had learned about Tsubame and that she had started a fanclub. How much she loves Tsubame. How he'd definitely fall in love with her when they meet. And so on, and so forth....

To be frank, Tezuka disliked types like her. There was no ending to her talking and no way to stop her from doing so. Also, pressing her for FALID information would be, softly expressed, annoying. He leaned backwards.

"err.... may I ask... what is it you offered him to steal?"

"Nhehe..." She showed a pranking grin on her face. "That's a secret between Tsubame-sama and me."

"To be honest, I doubt someone like Tsubame would make time for you." He said with a slight attitude after the 100th 'Tsubame is so amazing'.

That hit quite a sensitive spot on Tomoka. "He'll come! He'll definitely come! Tsubame-sama would never leave a lady in trouble!"

".....In trouble?" Tezuka's attention was caught back.

Tomoka looked rather troubled for a moment. She had even fallen silent.

Tezuka wanted to thank the heavens for her finally shutting up, but this might be very important. A reason why Tsubame really had to come.

Tomoka bit her lip, then whispered: "Promise not to write about this, okay? Not before the robbery, at the least..."

Tezuka doubted, having to promise something before knowing the reason, but nodded in the end.

"3 years ago..... A man called Hajime Mizuki had been pressuring my family.. We unknowingly ended up in financial debt to him, he made us owe him in dirty ways. And he was blackmailing my parents over various things I don't know off. In the end, the pressure became too much for my parents and they committed suicide. The blackmailing stopped, but the debt still had to be paid off. Among the belongings of which I had to distance myself of was a pendant.... A dear memento to my late mother.

After time passed, my uncle helped me to regain fortune, but the pendant has always been bothered me.

And now, after 3 years, that same Mizuki dares to invite me to a party of his....

It outraged me and so... I longed for Tsubame-sama to save me."

Tezuka fell silent. He had mistaken in this poor child. She might still be a child, but she was pure of feelings.

"I take back what I said..... I hope he'll come for you."

Tomoka's eyes shimmered thankfully. "I know! Mizuki said I could take people along if I want to! Why don't you come along as my bodyguard, mr. reporter? You seem reliable." Well, at least she wasn't the type to hold grudges very easily.

Tezuka considered. "Will you be alright with that? It would be convenient from my side, but-"

She nodded. "Please come!"

Tezuka pulled a rather uncomfortable grimace, which could pass on for a smile. "I'll gladly accept, then."

 

_February 4th 1940, London_

Tezuka checked his suit one last time in the grand hall, before entering the foyer. He only wore them on rare occasions. Tezuka believed they didn't look very well on him.

Then again, looking impressive wasn't important for this event. He'd just have to make sure he wouldn't catch much eye.

Next to him was a rather nervous lady Tomoka. She tapped her shoes on the marble floor. All this fame and fortune had gone over the backs of her parents and perhaps many more.

A little unusual, Tezuka offered her his arm. She took it eagerly, for support.

Slowly and gently, and a little nervous himself, he lead her inside the large foyer.

The first person to approach her made her back off. He was probably tonight's target, Hajime Mizuki.

She pulled a repulsed face when he went as far as to take her hand and plant his lips on it.

Tezuka pulled her backwards. "My excuses...." He attended Mizuki, holding Tomoka away from him.

"Ah, no, the pleasure is all mine. And who might this be?" Mizuki eyed Tezuka Skeptical.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu. I am lady Tomoka's guardian."

"I see.... well, please enjoy yourselves." he turned on his heels and let them be.

 

  
(kudo's for Mizuki's fashion sense!)

 

Tomoka sighed relieved. "Thanks there... One more word from his mouth and I would have slapped him in the face."

"Please behave yourself, lady Tomoka. If all goes well, this will be your victory."

Tomoka fell silent.

".......The pendant he's wearing... He's just shamelessly showing off with my mother's pendant...."

Tezuka didn't quite know how to respond any more but a light pat on her back. If Tsubame would show up, it would be a hard task for him to-

"-It seems I've grown in so much wealth that others are trying to take advantage of it in dirty ways." Mizuki's voice ringed a few meter away from them. He was lightly chattering, as the center of attention to a group of people.

"This morning, I received a notice from that ordinaire thief. What was his name again? Tsu- something.... Tsuman? Tsukai?" (steal, boring, to get)

"Tsubame....." Tezuka heard himself say.

Mizuki glanced at him, disturbed in his bragging.

"Yes... something like that. Well, luck sure has to be with him. Who could steal something amidst a crowd like this? And even remove the item from my very own neck! The guts!" Mizuki's snarling laugh filled the room.

Tezuka could see Tomoka's hand cramp.

For now, all they could do was wait. But things were for the better. they now knew that Tsubame really would come.

Tezuka couldn't deny that he was a little bit anxious. He wanted to see Tsubame in action again. It'd also remove the uneasiness about Tsubame being wounded, from the last thievery.

"Tezuka-san... I'm going to take a little stroll...." Tomoka showed Tezuka a weak smile, then left.

Tezuka leaned against the wall and sighed. He wondered how Tsubame would strike this time. Another outage? But that way, how would he find Mizuki?

And how WOULD one steal something that a person is wearing? One would notice instantly.

Now that Tezuka thought about it, the last time Tsubame used an outage, it only took 3 minutes to steal what he wanted. How did he ignite the outage?

The clock struck 8 o'clock. Mizuki yelped by the false alarm. Tezuka grunted softly as a reply. This Mizuki was really a rather annoying man.

Everyone sighed in relieve that it had been a fluke, though.

But as everyone opened their eyes from the sigh, the room was pitch black and the window blew open.

 

All the guest in the room held their breaths. What was going to happen? Had Tsubame entered? Was he already among us?

Mizuki's high voice shrieked: "Close that damned window!! What if he enters!?"

Tezuka realized Tsubame had his fair advantage, considering Mizuki. There had been no need for anything to indicate where Mizuki would be standing, Tsubame knew Mizuki's yelling would betray his position.

"Mizuki-san, we've been around the window the entire time, no one entered!"

"Then hurry up and close it already! It's freezing cold too!"

Soon, the light returned. All eyes were on Mizuki and more important, the pendant...... that was still there.


	5. 5th Flight: Justice

**Justice**

_February 4th 1940, London_

Had Tsubame failed? The pendant was clearly still there.

Mizuki chuckled in triumph.

"As expected, that filthy thief couldn't do a thing! And it can't be a fake, I recognize this pendant out of anywhere."

Tezuka doubted, but walked up to Mizuki. "may I see it for a second?"

Mizuki replied with a snobbish grunt. "And what if you're actually Tsubame, trying to steal it the moment you have it in your hands?"

"At that moment, your men can easily overpower me. And even if they can't, you've all seen my face." Tezuka held his reporters badge towards Mizuki as a conferment of his ID and a valid reason of wanting to see the pendant.

Mizuki doubted. "Very well, then. You'd better write a good article about my victory."

Tezuka took the pendant, while Mizuki was still wearing it. Checking it from all sides, it seemed to be the real thing....

...But what was this?

In a small corner, Tezuka noticed something. was it..... a smiley? it was nothing more the 2 short scratches to the right and a long one slashed to the left.

No... it wasn't just some smiley. It was the Japanese hiragana for 'tsu'.

Tezuka let the pendant fall against Mizuki's chest again.

"errr.... I believe it's the real thing...." Tezuka took his distance.

"See? See!? That thief is just an amateur! He's no match for someone like me."

Mizuki just chattered on as Tezuka left the group of attention.

'Tomoka', passed through his mind. Where had she gone to?

Tezuka left for the restrooms. Searching for the little girl, he passed hallways. Then, he heard voices.

Closing in on them, he saw lady Tomoka. And with her was....

He had kneeled on the ground and taken her hand. "I come to return what is rightfully yours, my lady." He gently kissed her hand and left the real pendant in her hand.

Tomoka stood frozen to the ground, flustered and red. Tsubame answered her blush with a smile and stood up. He then noticed Tezuka.

"My.....a very good evening, reporter-san."

Tomoka noticed him as well. She escaped from her daze and waved at Tezuka.

"Mr. Tezuka! I got it back! Tsubame-sama got it back for me!" She squealed, as tears filled her happy eyes. Tezuka glanced at Tsubame.

"How did you do it?"

Tsubame's mouth curled into a charming smile. "Can you guess?"

Tezuka considered for a moment. ".....The window...was it?"

Tsubame chuckled. "Correct. Cold metal fits better on a cold heart. a simple gust of wind was enough to turn the real pendant as cold as the fake one."

"a very clever trick, indeed....."

The look on Tsubame's face was somewhat.... triumphant. Tezuka guessed he liked his ego stroked.

But looking at him, standing next to a very happy and thankful Tomoka... was he really such a bad person, despite stealing?

 

A loud noise was to be heard from the foyer. Tomoka looked up in distress.

"They must have found out!" she yelped.

Tsubame gave Tomoka a last pat on her shoulder, then left through the window, exchanging one last glance to Tezuka. "I hope we'll meet again, soon."

Tsubame had only just left when Mizuki and other guests along with him burst in.

"How would you explain this, mr. reporter!? You lied! this thing is false! It's not worth a penny!" Mizuki smacked the forgery on the floor.

Then, his eyes fell on Tomoka. And more importantly, the necklace in her hands.

"You.... I could have known it was you! You were the one to send that thief after me! Still slobbering over your parents has made you mad! I'll ruin you too! Just like I ruined your parents!!" various people had to keep Mizuki from attacking the scared Tomoka. Tezuka stepped in between them. ".....Ruining her parents.... could you tell us about that in detail, perhaps?"

Mizuki's eyes enlarged. "You witch!! This was all in your plan, wasn't it!!? You'll pay for this! You'll pay!!" He kept yelling towards Tomoka as people dragged him away.

 

"....are you alright now?" Tezuka carefully dared to ask as he escorted Tomoka back home.

"I'm....still a little shaken..."

"Don't worry. I don't doubt he'll be arrested for the things he did... You don't have to fear him anymore."

Tomoka shook her head. "I'm already happy with this. It feels like I can move on... Thank you, mr. Tezuka."

"err... I didn't do anything in particular..."

"hn hn..." She shook her head again. "you did at least as much as Tsubame-sama did!"

"......" Tezuka smiled a little. it did him good to see that Tomoka was doing well. He thanked Tsubame in his heart.

"I know! I'm gonna make a club for Tsubame and you as a pair!!"

Tezuka looked flustered. "p-please don't......"

 

_February 12th, London_

The week after was rather quiet. Tezuka had written his article and found out that Mizuki was indeed arrested.

But to Tezuka, it was yet another sit and wait.

At some point, Sanada called him over though.

"Tezuka..." He said. "I'm very satisfied about the work you've done lately. Your writing really touches our readers."

"It's not that amazing, sir." Tezuka answered modestly. Again this conversation? Tezuka wasn't very fond of compliments. Besides, the moment Sanada Genichirou started to give compliments, one could know that something was wrong.

"I've taken a look at the pictures you took, though..." See? there it was already...

"They're far below level, Tezuka. What were you doing?"

Tezuka sighed. "A professional thief isn't supposed to be caught in action to begin with, sir. This is the best I could do..."

"Well, maybe it's too much for you..."

Tezuka looked up at his boss. "You're.... going to put me off of the case, sir?" Tezuka felt far more disappointed then he wanted.

Sanada was silent for a while, then he laughed. "Are you crazy? I'd be a fool to take you off of this one. I have a better idea." Sanada turned towards the door.

"Oi! you can come in!"

The door opened and a person came walking in. A person who made Tezuka's eyes enlarge.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm Fuji Syusuke."

Tezuka recognized the boy from the museum. The same he had met at Tower Bridge. That same boy stood in front of him, now. Was this still coincidence?

Sanada slapped the boy's shoulder. "From today on, Fuji will be your assistant in taking pictures. He's a genius with the camera. No need to worry about a thing now."

Tezuka realized he hadn't introduced himself yet. "err... I'm...Tezuka..." he mumbled.

"You two take your time to get to know each other, I'll be expecting good work from the both of you." Sanada left.

The boy named Fuji just stood in front of Tezuka, smiling. Tezuka didn't really know what to do. The boy probably wouldn't even recall him. Tezuka himself didn't quite know why he was still remembering that event.

"How was Swiss?" The boy asked him.

"err?" Tezuka, at first, didn't really understand what he was talking about.

But of course! He had taken a picture of him, saying he was sightseeing and going to Swiss...

"Ah! err... I didn't go yet..." Tezuka quickly replied.

"Oh, I see.... must be nice to go there, with the mountains.."

"y..Yes....."

Sightseeing? Where did Tezuka hear that before? He tried to think back.

Sightseeing......Sightseeing.....

_'It seems you're not part of the police. Sightseeing?'_

Tsubame! Tsubame had said so against him when they first met, hadn't he?

But no, wait... everyone can use that word. it's a very normal word.

But at the Tower Bridge, This Fuji Syusuke had left the scene even earlier then he had.

And the height, approximate age, soft voice.... they all could be a match.

 

Was it perhaps..... Was Fuji Syusuke actually Tsubame?


	6. 6th Flight: Two

_ _

_February 20th, London_

 

Tezuka had held his eyes closely on Fuji over the week. He didn't strike him as very unnatural. He was just a nice boy who was very good with a camera.

Was Tezuka thinking biased? Was it just that he wanted to know the truth?

Why would it bother him, anyway? It's the job of the police to find out about his identity, not that of a reporter. If Tsubame's identity would become known, Tezuka'd even lose the job of this case....

In the end, Tezuka just had to admit in defeat: He simply wanted to know more about Tsubame.

 

"Wahhh... This place sure is spacious." Fuji commented as they set foot in the st. Paul's cathedral. Tsubame would come today to steal a statue of the holy mother Maria. It was quite a pretty icon to look at, though it was small. The evening mass had just ended, so there were still some people around.

It wouldn't be very hard for Tsubame to enter an open place like this. Getting away would perhaps be tricky.

Fuji had taken his camera and was making pictures of the dome. Tezuka just left him be for a while and took a look around. It was a beautiful cathedral. Tezuka had to admit he wasn't all that interested in religion, so he had never entered one before. He was quite awed by the beauty.

Tezuka felt that he was more at ease since last case. It felt good to know that Tsubame hadn't been hurt very badly from the gunshot.

"Nah, Tezuka?" Fuji called him.

"hm?" Tezuka went over to him, joining him to stare at the dome.

"Just curious, what do you think will be Tsubame's tactic for this time? The most logic thing to do is to enter by a side entrance. But causing an outage will be tough in here. What do you believe he'll do?"

Tezuka produced a short 'hmpf..' as he considered the question. "I'd see him be cheeky enough to enter through the front door..."

"Really so?" Fuji frowned, then smiled. "You sound quite confident. You seem to know a lot about Tsubame."

"Not really, it's just a stereotype...." Tezuka admitted to himself that that wasn't the truth, though.

"The front door, huh? That would be quite interesting. Well." Fuji clapped his hands together. "We'll just have to wait and see."

 

It seems like the police had arrived on the scene as well. And only after a little, Tezuka and Fuji could hear them calling out. "Tsubame's at the western tower!"

The 2 glanced at each other. "I'll go take a look. You keep an eye on the statue, okay?" Fuji said and left to where the ruckus was coming from.

'If this youth was really Tsubame, he had probably set up something to make it seem like Tsubame had appeared. It was not too unimaginable that Fuji had to run over and hide his trick.' So Tezuka thought to himself.

He hid himself on a stair, waiting for Tsubame to somewhere appear. Where is it he'll come from? A side entrance? From the ceiling? Maybe even from underground.

Tezuka heard footsteps. They were very clear within the acoustic building. Tezuka locked his eyes on the direction his ears told him to. And he couldn't believe his eyes.

Tsubame had actually appeared at the front entrance. He was actually at the place Tezuka had mentioned, as a joke. Was this still coincidence?

What guts did this man have!

It must be Fuji. It had to be Fuji! No one else had heard Tezuka mention the front entrance. Tezuka's heart pumped in his throat, knowing he had been so close around Tsubame for the past week.

Tsubame casually paced towards the statue. The police was probably plenty distracted for him to do so.

What should Tezuka do? Should he confront him with it? Should he just stay where he was?

In the end, he decided to come out. He wanted to talk to Tsubame. He wanted to know.

But as he did, another figure entered the spacious hall. "Tezuka, Tsubame is-....." Fuji stopped in his tracks as he stood eye in eye with Tsubame.

Fuji.

Tsubame.

They were both in the same room....

 

"In the end, he got away...." Fuji mentioned as they were both walking over the streets of London.

"hm..." Was Tezuka's only reply.

"You don't seem very happy about it.."

"hm..." again.

"Well, at least we have a picture of him."

"hm.."

".........Tomorrow, it's going to hail little swallows."

"hm..."

"Tezuka."

Tezuka looked up. "err, yes?"

"How far away were you? Did something happen on the scene while I wasn't there?"

Tezuka felt a little uncomfortable, talking to the person next to him. "No... just that..... never mind.."

Fuji sighed, then smiled. "Tsubame seems to be very important to you..."

"Not really..." Tezuka walked on.

"Well, he gives us work. That's enough to be interested in him..."

Tezuka glanced at Fuji. He wondered if he should test him one last time.

In the end, he asked him: "What do you think about Tsubame, now that you've seen him?"

Fuji was silent for a while. he then answered: "A thief is a thief. For London's security, he should be behind bars. I dislike him."

Tezuka grid his teeth. Can you say that much over your own alter ego? Tezuka had to admit that he had thought the same in the start... but going as far as to say he should be put behind bars....

Tezuka had seen them both in the same room. There was no turning around it. They were both there. And the answer Fuji had given had left a bitter taste in Tezuka's mouth. Right now, he didn't even want Fuji to be Tsubame....

 

They could both hear a car stop behind them. A man opened the door. Tezuka vaguely recalled seeing him from somewhere.

"Syu. Are you done with work yet?" The man asked.

"Ah, dad!" Fuji smiled and walked up to him. "Well then, Tezuka. I'll see you tomorrow." With a charming smile, Fuji entered the car.

That man.... Tezuka had definitely seen him. Atobe Keigo, was his name...

He was Fuji's father?

 

"And? How was work?" Atobe asked his son, keeping his eyes on the road.

Fuji smiled. "Quite interesting. I enjoyed myself today."

"That's good." Atobe laughed. "Don't you dare screw up, huh, brat?"

"I won't, I won't." Fuji leaned his head on his wrist.

"How is that reporter of you doing?"

Fuji fell silent. Then, he smiled. "He is really interesting...."

"That so? Pfeh... Then that's just fine... But don't forget what your real goal is, alright?"

"Don't worry. I won't ever disappoint you."

Atobe laughed and moved an arm to the back to ruffle Fuji's hair.

"That's my boy! Go make me proud, kid. Then at least I have something to brag about when a party gets boring."

Fuji stared out of the window, smiling. It might not look it very much, but Fuji loved spending time with his father. It meant a lot to him.

"Here you go, brat." Atobe reached his arm to the back again, holding a piece of paper.

"Dad, I just came back..."

"Now don't complain. I really want this." Atobe chuckled.

"You always say that...." Fuji looked at the note, then smiled.

"mission understood."

 

To be honest, Tezuka was happy that Fuji hadn't come along back to the office. Tezuka was really not the person who'd enjoy other people's company.

And well.... To be honest, Tezuka disliked him. They didn't seem to have much in common and he had something spoiled over him.

Knowing that he was the son of Atobe Keigo could explain that, though.

But why would someone like that go and work for the press? meh... The boy just likes taking pictures, Tezuka concluded.

"Te-zu-ka..." He heard right behind him.

"ah!" Tezuka backed off, crashing his head into Niou's.

"Puri. You've been more and more off with your mind lately, Tezuka." The white haired boy rubbed his head.

"I'm sorry... What is it you came for?"

Niou grinned, holding a piece of paper. "More love letters."

"Will you stop bringing it like that?" Tezuka grunted and snatched the piece of paper.

"Whut? It's pretty obvious by now that Tsu-sama has taken a personal interest in you...."

"I really don't see why..." Tezuka sat back and glared at the ceiling.

"Well, just wait and see..." Niou turned for the door.

"Nah, Niou..."

"Puri?" He turned his head back.

Tezuka glanced at the notice in his hand. "How do you get your hands on these all the time?"

Niou showed him a wicked smile. "The overstressed police officer."

Tezuka muffled a chuckle. "I see..."

As Niou left, Tezuka took a look at the notice.

 

_On Thursday the 29th of February, 17:00,_

_I'll steal the Grande portrait at Queen's road._

_Kaitou Tsubame._


	7. 7th Flight: Guilty Hands

_February 29th, London_

Tezuka took the choice of arriving at the land house earlier then the notice had mentioned. That way, he could perhaps learn a little better about the situation beforehand.

He tried telling himself that he wasn't going to crack Tsubame's plan, but..... Well, he wanted to know, yes. Every case up until now had mysteries to everyone.

How did he enter? How did he leave? Basic things like that.

Fuji had tagged along, to Tezuka's disliking. There was not much of trust left for him.

Was he overreacting? Fuji had been free to say what he had wanted about the phantom thief. Actually, Tezuka might be in the wrong for trusting a thief so much.

Tezuka felt stupid for making such a big point out of it. But he couldn't really deny his own feelings.

For now, Fuji was his team mate. Tezuka would have disliked any team mate anyway, since he'd rather enjoy going his own way without restrain. But also as a team mate, he'll just have to live with it.

Fuji was walking ahead of him and rang the doorbell with quite little of restrain.

A man opened the door, quite largely build. He had a mean look on his face. Fuji didn't back off, though.

"We're here for the notice Phantom thief Tsubame has left. We're from the press."

The large man just glared back. It was quite a spectacular sight to see the large and intimidatingly glaring man against the small and cheeky Fuji.

"Teh... Like hell I care. We don't have time for you rats." The man wanted to close the door.

"How is the divorce coming along?" Fuji asked.

The man stopped and glared at Fuji again. How did Fuji know there was a divorce going on?

The young boy threw a cheeky smile towards Tezuka. for a short moment, he pressed against the base of his nose, as if adjusting glasses. Yagyuu? Or perhaps Inui...

In any case, Fuji hadn't been doing nothing ever since the notice had gotten in.

"Akutsu, who is it?" A girl approached from behind the man.

"Theh... just some annoying brats from the press." Akutsu snarled.

The girl's face turned quite pale, but then replied: "I see, you must be here because of Tsubame. I'm Ann, please come inside."

 

 

The household was clean and bright. it was a beautiful mansion. but the atmosphere was nasty. Everyone seemed nervous.

"I don't believe Tsubame picked a very suitable situation." Fuji whispered. Tezuka had to agree, though Tsubame couldn't have really known of this. tsk, again he was searching for things to righteous Tsubame....

Ann introduced them to the family. Her husband, Shiraishi Kuranosuke was a person, hnn... How should you describe him? At first glance, he didn't seem to be very unpleasant. But little things showed that he didn't think very highly of Ann.

"Whatever it is, I don't really care. I have things to do, so can you lead them around, Ann?" Were the only words heard from him before he left to his office.

Ann just nodded to her husband’s wishes. He replied with something vague like 'ah.. Ecstasy'.

"m'am.... may I ask what it is that happened?" Tezuka asked carefully. Ann just laughed a little. "My husband is always like this. Don't worry over it. In any case, I'll show you the painting Tsubame's after..." She didn't get the chance immediately, though.

"If one person, then why don't you just blame me, mom?" A boy stood in the door opening. He looked laid back and little cranky.

"Ah, Hiyoshi, don't say that!"

"It's fine, I understand what's going on by now." the boy shrugged.

Ann bit her lip. She called for Akutsu to escort her son. "Let's talk about these things later, neh?" She tried to smile it off. "The painting, the painting... err... please follow me.

Fuji was staring after the 2 men who left, it seemed that the butler Akutsu had caught his eye.

"Fuji?" Tezuka turned to the younger.

"hn? No, nothing." The boy smiled and paced towards the other.

 

"This is the painting. It's been in our family for the last 7 generations." Ann pointed them to a large portrait of a red haired sailor in a storm. Stealing a painting of that size, just how was Tsubame planning to do so?

"If you'll excuse me, though, I need to go and have a conversation with my husband about things." Ann left them aswell.

Tezuka sighed. "This household sure wasn't waiting for a visit...."

"hnrr.... Something nasty is going on... or is going to happen..." Fuji replied.

"For now, Fuji... please keep an eye on what happens outside. I'll stay in the hall just out this room."

Fuji nodded and head for the door. "Tezuka...."

"Hnn?"

"Be careful..."

Tezuka paused for a moment, then nodded. "You too...."

 

About an hour passed in where Tezuka was alone. Tezuka hadn't enjoyed what happened at the mansion of Mizuki, but the sphere in here felt twice as worse.

'Something nasty is going to happen' is what Fuji had said. Did it concern Tsubame? Was he in danger?

Tezuka hadn't gone to the hall as he had told Fuji. Rather, he was waiting in the room with the painting. Tezuka knew one thing: Where the item is, Tsubame will appear. He had send Fuji off outside, though. hnnr.... it would increase the chances of seeing him if they spread out, but... Tezuka didn't really feel like Fuji interfering with Tsubame. He didn't trust him, he was to unpredictable. Besides, that way, Fuji could perhaps keep an eye on the family. And the police outside could keep an eye on him.

As the outage came, Tezuka felt anxious, but he stayed on his place, his eyes sharp on the door. And indeed, a figure appeared. Because of a small window and the pale moonlight, he saw it was Tsubame.

Tsubame however, did not head for the portrait. Rather, he seemed to be more interested in the spotlights that had been lighting the portrait. After going past every of them and removing something, he left.

Tezuka wanted to see what had happened to the lights, but he would have been blinded by the light had he been a little earlier. After that, there was no time to see what had happened. The painting was gone

 

and an icy scream filled the house.


	8. 8th Flight: Pointing fingers

_ _

_March 1st, London_

 

Shiraishi Kuranosuke was found dead in his study, lying by the feet of his shocked wife. He was hit on the head from behind by a blunt object. He had been killed somewhere between a quarter to 8 and 10 past 8.

The people who had last seen him were his wife Ann, son Hiyoshi, butler Akutsu Jin, reporter Tezuka Kunimitsu, photographer Fuji Syusuke...... And the murderer.

For now, Tezuka and Fuji couldn't talk to the suspects yet. Both were also quite shocked over what happened. They seemed to be unrelated to the victim, so they were removed from the list of suspects. Something had happened which had upset Tezuka, though. The police had concluded that the prime suspect was....

Tsubame..

 

In silence, they had both just returned to the office.

"What do you believe has happened?" Fuji dared to ask after a while.

"The most logical thing is that someone in the house took advantage of the outage..." Tezuka had concluded. The idea of Tsubame committing a murder. tsk, preposterous.

"I personally don't trust anyone in that house. They could have all done it."

"Do they have a motive for it?"

"hm.." Fuji nodded. "Shiraishi wanted to divorce because he found out about something shocking. It appears to be that Hiyoshi is not their legitimate child, but the son of a man Ann is still seeing. Quite amazing how she had kept it hidden for so long. It also seems that Shiraishi owed money to Akutsu."

"You're quite shrewd for finding out this much..." Tezuka commented. Fuji took it as a compliment with a smile.

"What do you think about them suspecting Tsubame, though?" He asked.

Tezuka frowned. "There's no way it was him."

"Why not?"

Tezuka paused, staring at Fuji. "It's.... obvious, isn't it? Tsubame's a thief, but not a murderer."

"How can you be sure? one crime can lead to the other...."

Did Fuji suspect Tsubame? His voice sounded like he was just playing the devil's lawyer.... But it pissed Tezuka off.

"I saw Tsubame that night, it couldn't have been him."

Fuji frowned. "So you did see him?.... still, he could have done the kill before he stole the portrait."

"He wouldn't have had enough time."

"Tsubame is a trickster, even if something seems impossible to us, he could have simply used a trick."

Fuji's point seemed valid, still.

"He had no motive. Why would he want to kill him?"

"We don't know if he had a motive. the mood was incredibly tense, you noticed as well. It's not unimaginable for them to be involved with him."

"That mood could also be there because it was a predetermined murder." Tezuka was starting to lose his patience. Just what was Fuji playing at? Did he hate Tsubame for some reason to image him as a potential murderer?

"Either way, Tsubame was there, everyone was nervous. It's quite clear why he's the prime suspect."

Tezuka's blood was boiling. Tsubame was NOT a murderer! Tezuka knew he wasn't like that! he didn't know why, he didn't know how to explain it.... But Tezuka couldn't believe that the same gentle person who had helped a little girl to be a cold murderer.

Tezuka... didn't want him to be like that.

"Forget it..." Tezuka turned off.

"Eh? Tezuka?" Fuji looked a little perplexed.

"If you don't want to believe it, I don't care..."

Fuji smiled a little nervously. "I was just saying that we shouldn't exclude the possibility..."

Tezuka turned back. his eyes were fired up. "I'll prove you're wrong. I'll prove you it wasn't Tsubame." With that, he left the office, nearly knocking Yagyuu, who had just wanted to enter, over.

Fuji stared after Tezuka, in quite disbelieve.

"Fuji-kun, are you alright?" Yagyuu asked him a little worried.

Fuji didn't answer. He was just staring.

Then, he smiled. "Neh, Yagyuu...."

"Yes?"

"Is Tezuka always this passionate?" Fuji's glance didn't leave the door.

Yagyuu considered. "Rarely ever. Usually he's just calm and collected.... why?"

Fuji just grinned. ".......how interesting.."

 

_March 4th, London_

Tezuka finally had the chance to question the family. The police hadn't found anything and so everyone was still free to move around as they wanted.

Fuji didn't went along with Tezuka, though. To be honest, he was very pissed aswell. He decided to move around on his own.

Tezuka was questioning Ann and Hiyoshi, while Fuji was checking outside, around the house. Fuji himself was also quite determined to find something before Tezuka would. What happened a few days ago was just plain rude.

'I didn't even had the chance to celebrate my birthday because of this case...' he just pouted to himself. Then, through the window, he noticed Akutsu going into Shiraishi's office. What did Akutsu have to do there?

Fuji moved around the building, to the window of Shiraishi's office. From there, he saw Akutsu fussing in a few drawers. He was searching for something.

Fuji didn't doubt a moment. This could be important evidence. He took his camera and took a picture of Akutsu as he was focused on the drawers. Akutsu was a sharp man, though. He turned and Fuji was scared that he had been spotted. But from within the house, a large bang was heard. Akutsu's attention shoot away from Fuji, as Fuji hurried out of sight.

Something had happened within the house. Fuji had to think fast. If Akutsu had spotted him, it'd be dangerous to go inside....

But Tezuka was there. What if something had happened?

In the end, Fuji did decide to go inside. He set foot for the room where Tezuka should be, but....

It seemed that the police had still been in the area. And as hawks, they had dived onto their prey, the loud bang from before.

Fuji could only throw a quick glance inside. and what he saw shocked him unimaginably.

On the floor, there was Ann. a pool of blood surrounding her.

A little away from her was Hiyoshi, knocked over a chair.

And in the midst of both was Tezuka.... holding a still smoking gun.


	9. 9th Flight: Into Deep

_March 5th, London_

 

"I didn't do it..."

Fuji sighed. "Yes, I know at least that much..."

Tezuka's interrogation had went on the entire previous night. He hadn't been able to do anything against the offences. The moment the police of this time has their eyes set on someone, they would hardly ever remove their suspicion off of anyone.

"What is it that happened yesterday?"

Tezuka stared at the ground. Having to repeat the story over and over last night, he honestly didn't feel like telling it again.

Fuji pressed him to do so in the end, though.

"I was alone with the wife and son. When I was questioning Ann, it seemed that something was triggered inside of Hiyoshi.

He pulled the gun and shot his mother. When I realized what had happened, I tried to disarm Hiyoshi.

We struggled and I ended up hitting his head against a shelve, while taking hold of the gun.

That's when the police came in..."

Fuji bit his lip. "What idiot goes and fight an armed man? You’re lucky you've only got arrested, instead of losing your life!"

Tezuka looked down. Fuji didn't quite keep account of the adrenaline rush of that moment..... or did he?

"What did the forensics say?"

Tezuka sighed. "The fingerprints came out..... Only mine were visible. And a few wiped ones, claimed to be mine...."

"On another account, how do you think Tsubame stole the painting in such a short time?" Fuji changed subjects.

"ahh.... I went to check back at the scene, before I spoke to Ann and Hiyoshi. On the lamps, I could find some kind of glue. I think that Tsubame used some kind of transparent image to paste on them. The moment the light goes on, a mirage is created. Since he pasted them on several lamps in a certain angle, it added dimension too it and because no one was allowed to come close, out of suspicion, no one would notice it was just a projection."

"ehhhh.... You figured Tsubame's trick out pretty well..."

"hmpf.... I think you would have guessed it too..."

Someone entered the room on that moment.

"Sorry Syu, visit hour's over." Tezuka recognized the laid back voice of Oshitari Yuushi.

"You know him?" He asked.

"hn, he's a friend of my father." Fuji turned to Oshitari. "Ah, I'm almost done."

Tezuka pulled a grimace.

"You know what's worst of it all?

They believe I'm Tsubame...."

Tezuka could swear he saw Fuji's eyes enlarge for a little.

".....in any case, don't fret. I'm sure Sanada-san can arrange you a good attorney."

Fuji got up and left.

Tezuka frowned..... Was Fuji really not-....?

 

Fuji returned to the office and sat down at Tezuka's desk, smacking the newest 'Tsubame is a murderer?' tabloid on it, which he found on the doorstep along the way.

He hoped to find some conclusive evidence by roaming into Tezuka's drawers.

No luck, though. A man like Tezuka would take vital information home, rather than to let it linger around at work. There was no way for Fuji being able of retrieving it from there..... unless.........

"Yo, Fuji." His white haired colleague chirped from the door opening.

"I'm a little busy now, Niou. I'm sure you can figure why."

"Well, just watch and see. They found something interesting at the police, but dunno what to do with it. I'm sure you'll be able to tie the knots, though."

Fuji took the little card Niou was holding to him, which had the phone number of a police officer called Oishi Syuichirou on it.

As Niou left, Fuji dialled the number.

The same nervous officer Tezuka had been talking to picked the phone.

Fuji tried to explain the situation, but Oishi refused to tell anything.

Fuji growled. This man is annoying.

Oishi yelped because of the growl. "Alright alright, I'll tell!"

Fuji frowned and repeated Tezuka's thoughts of 'That was easy'.

"You see, we found struggle marks on the body of Hiyoshi. They must have indeed fought together. But Hiyoshi tells that he was trying to stop Tezuka from shooting his mother."

"Where is it that you found the marks?"

"a-Ah. That was... his upper chest, just beneath his neck and his wrists."

".........."

More, Oishi couldn't tell him. His phone was taken away and Fuji could hear the deep voice of Oshitari.

"Sorry, more info's classified. Who is this anyway?"

Fuji fell silent for a while.

"It's me..."

"Oh? You again, Syusuke? How you keep on gettin' yourself into this kind of trouble? Your dad won't quit about it if you get too involved." Oshitari sighed over the rash young boy. "Can you and Yuuta go any more different?"

Fuji smiled. "How is Yuuta doing?"

"Still alive. He's working his way up on getting the Tsubame case."

Fuji frowned. "Yuuta is really to be admired...."

"He sure is. He's more responsible then you are, lad."

"Say hi to him when you see him again, okay?"

"You can go and say so yourself, he'll be at the court over your friend."

"We're... not really friends. He's my colleague." Fuji sounded a little sad. He liked Tezuka, but it didn't seem to be answered.

"Well, either way, I assume you'll be goin'.... Take care, huh? We don't want stuff to repeat."

Fuji paused. "That won't happen... I'm in good hands with father now..."

"That so? That man'd take abuse of his own child if he'd had the chance..."

"Everything I do has been my own choice. It has nothing to do with my dad."

".......well, if you say so. Give him a good punch in the stomach from me, nah? ho nah, see you later."

_March 6th, London_

It was still early in the morning but Tezuka was already, or rather 'still', awake.

Outside, he could hear a ruckus. Quite a loud one.

He walked to his door and had the luck that Oshitari was just passing by. on the contraries of his colleagues, he had quite a relaxed pace.

"Oshitari-san, what happened?"

"hn? Seems like Syusuke's started a city chase together with Hiyoshi. Reason's still unknown...."

"Fuji is...."

Oshitari opened Tezuka's cell. "Come along, maybe you can calm him down..."

"ah..."

Together, they headed for the place where the 2 teens had last been spotted.

It seemed that they ran down the Battersea park road, towards Vauxhall. The police had lost track of them, though.

Tezuka let his eyes flash from left to right, in search for his colleague. If Hiyoshi'd have hold of another weapon, Fuji'd be in great danger.

Then, he saw them, running across the Vauxhall bridge road. Fuji had caught up to Hiyoshi. they were struggling.

Tezuka got himself free from Oshitari's sight and rushed in their direction.

He was already too late though.

Both boys met the edge of the bridge and tumbled over. A large splash followed.

"Fuji!!"


	10. 10th flight: Past Events

_March 6th, London_

 

Fuji sat on the shore of the Thymes. Soaked, cold, shivering. They had also picked Hiyoshi out of it. He was explaining what had happened.

For now, the police had their hands full on the son of the murdered parents and Fuji just sat against Tezuka, panting from the run.

"Why did you go and do such a thing?" Tezuka was quite angry. Fuji had told him not to be rash, but look who's talking....

"I....I tried to.... get you declared... innocent..." Fuji panted.

"........." Tezuka sighed. "What happened?"

"that is.....well...."

 

"So what is it you're here for? I'm a little busy. Both my parents died, you know?"

"Don't worry, it's just a short interview for us to stay up to date."

Hiyoshi sighed, sitting back.

"I've heard there was quite a struggle when your mother was murdered." Fuji noted things down on a paper carefully.

"Ah.... It was my mother who was shot, after all. I couldn't just sit and wait. What if that freak would turn his gun to me, too?"

"I see.... I was told it left some nasty bruises on you."

"Ah... on my neck and wrist..."

Fuji fell silent.

Then, in a sweet voice he asked: "But that's weird... Why would they be around your wrist?"

"How do you mean?"

Fuji stood up. "Did you know that there are 2 ways to disarm a person of an item?"

"I don't see how that's-"

"Ow, but it's very relevant. You see, the smartest move to make is to get yourself behind a person and grab him underneath the arms."

"So?"

"The other way, however, would count if the person holding said item would stand behind you. Grabbing him from behind would prove to be difficult. So instead, you press your hand against someone's throat to make them back off and grab hold of someone's wrist."

Hiyoshi seemed to lose his patience. "So what? It's not very unnatural to grab someone's wrist."

"It is..... unless you want to take something from someone's hand."

Hiyoshi felt silent.

".....That's not true. He grabbed me to restrain me!"

"How could he? He'd at least need 2 free hands. one for your neck, the other for your wrist. But he didn't had both hands, since he was holding a gun. How is that possible? Only on one way: He wasn't holding the gun, but you were!" Fuji had him cornered. This could be the only logic assumption. But just this evidence wasn't what Fuji wanted. No, what more-

He could see something snap in Hiyoshi's eyes.

"......So what?.... So what if it was me?"

"Excuse me?"

"You have no clue what happened. You don't know what it's like when your dad simply declines you out of his life all of a sudden. We had so many plans together! But he found out I wasn't his child and so he started to hate me."

Fuji fell silent. "Don't worry... I know just how complicated a parent's love is...."

"I wasn't even aiming at him! It was her I wanted to have dead!"

"So you killed Ann aswell...."

"What are you going to do about it? It's your word against mine. And the pathetic little evidence you have can be easily overthrown by my lawyer."

"......." -click- ".......I doubt about that." Fuji held a small device in front of Hiyoshi. Fuji grinned at the boy's dumbfounded face.

"This, Hiyoshi-kun, is a tape recorder. The smallest of its sort, not out on the market yet. It taped our conversation. I believe that once the police hears it, it'll be hard for them to turn around a spoken confession."

Fuji had made a crucial mistake, though.

Hiyoshi was only slightly shaken by Fuji's action and so he knew what to do.

He snatched the recorder from Fuji's hand and made a run for it.

Without this evidence, the police had little ground to even suspect him. Only this evidence.

 

"I chased him down towards Vauxhall and that's where the police came in. The rest you know."

Tezuka sighed after holding his breath during most of Fuji's story. He then gave the boy a small nudge against the back of his head.

"Idiot... and you called me rash? Hiyoshi could have been armed... To go there alone is-...." Tezuka sighed again.

"The pressure spots on his wrist... can't it be used as evidence on its own?"

Fuji shook his head. "As he said, it's easily overthrown if the prosecutor is a little bit worthy of his title..."

The wet boy leaned his head against the shoulder of his elder. He was clearly exhausted.

Tezuka had almost forgotten that poor Fuji was soaked, but was now reminded.

"ah... You must be cold... I have a spare shirt with me.." Tezuka fussed in the bag he had taken along.

"hn... thanks.." Fuji sat back up, removed his slipover and unbuttoned his shirt.

Tezuka's heart thumped in his throat from what he saw underneath it.

A scar. Small, but apparently deep.

Tezuka was instantly reminded of the second case he had witnessed.

Tsubame was shot! Fuji had a scar!

It was now clear to Tezuka that Fuji really was Tsubame, after all!

 

 

Fuji was already buttoning his new shirt when he saw Tezuka's gaze.

"Ah, this?" Fuji chuckled a little uncomfortable. "It's a long story..."

"Do tell..."

Fuji stared over the water and sighed.

"4 years ago...I was kidnaped....

Some guys wanted money from my father....

In that time, I wasn't very close to my father. You could say I was neglected.

I blamed my father for allowing me to be caught. I didn't believe he'd pay up for my safety either....

But that man exceeded my expectations by far.

Together with Oshitari and the police, he came to safe me personally. I was told he was the one finding our location, even...

I was shot in the process... but this scar is worth seeing the true feelings of my father until its deepest core.

I can't even start explaining the expression in his eyes when he rushed in... called my name.... held me sheltered...

For weeks, he stayed by my side in the hospital, refusing every doctor harshly who told him to leave. He vowed to me every day: 'I won't ever leave you be again. I swear I'll protect you.....'

..... That's..... about what happened..."

Tezuka looked down. He felt nasty over suspect Fuji again. There are many reasons why one could have a scar. And it's always an unpleasant one.

Tezuka could hear from Fuji's voice that he hadn't been lying. Besides, it seemed to be a pretty old scar...

"I'm sorry..."

Fuji frowned, then smiled. "For what?"

"Ah... no, just......I should have trusted you more. You only wanted to help."

Fuji paused, then smiled. "We're pretty empty handed now, though...."

 

"It's time to go back...." Oshitari approached the two.

"I have a good hunch on what you were trying, Syu, but be a little smarter next time, nah?...." Oshitari took Tezuka along again.

".......Tezuka..."

Tezuka turned back, for as far as Oshitari allowed him.

".......... I'll....... find a way to help out... okay?"

"........" Tezuka smiled. ".....ah."


	11. 11th flight: Trial

_March 8th, London_

 

"Court is now in session for the trial of Tezuka Kunimitsu."

Tezuka sure wasn't having his day. About 20 minutes ago, he had met the defense attorney Sanada had arranged him, Ibu Shinji....

"Is the prosecution ready?" the judge, Ryuuzaki Sumire, asked.

"As ready as ever, m'am!" the prosecutor was a young prodigy, Kirihara Akaya.

"Is the defense ready?"

"..........mur mur... mur......"

"erm.... mr. Ibu?"

"........mur mur mur...."

"A.....little louder, perhaps?"

".......... ready..."

Both the judge and Tezuka sighed in agony. This was going to be a long trial...

"Prosecution, your openings-statement, if you please?" judge Ryuuzaki asked.

"Heh..." Kirihara chuckled. "I'll crush you..."

"Kirihara, please take the court seriously!"

"Teh, it's obvious, isn't it?" Kirihara snorted. "There were 3 people in the room, one dead, one knocked out, one with a gun. What more prove do you need?"

Tezuka didn't put much effort in trying to understand Ibu's mumbling.

Rather, he searched around the courtroom for familiar faces. He spotted Yagyuu and Sanada. Inui was probably still locked in his dark room and Niou... well, who would ever know what goes around in that puri-head?

By the door of the emergency exit, he saw Oshitari, together with a young boy.

At first, Tezuka had mistaken him for Fuji. But the boy had shorter hair and wasn't smiling like Fuji always did.

Then, in the corner of his eye, he spotted Fuji in the back of the courtroom.

It did Tezuka good to see him.

Fuji looked quite sad, though...

 

"So my theory is that a 4th person entered the room, wearing gloves, shot Shiraishi Ann, hit Shiraishi Hiyoshi and pushed the gun in Tezuka Kunimitsu's hands." Was a theory Ibu used. He seemed to quite ignore Hiyoshi, who was standing on the witness stand. Kirihara just laughed him in the face over it. "If that were so, either the suspect or the victim would've told, right?"

"Shiraishi Ann could have shot herself..."

"Same story... let's hurry this up with a cha-cha. You can't win this."

Tezuka felt quite frustrated. Where the hell did Sanada get such a bad lawyer? One idea was even more preposterous then the other. And he dropped his own theories within the blink of an eye, too.

But then, a point Tezuka held trust in came up.

"Shiraishi Hiyoshi could have pushed the weapon in Tezuka's hand before getting knocked out."

Kirihara actually had to think about it for a little. Hiyoshi answered instead: "There were no fingerprints of mine on the weapon, were there?"

"There were wiped ones, though..."

"They could have also been his own."

"True..."

Tezuka grunted. How in heavens was he going to win this case?

But of course! There was still that one point.

"err... If I may..." all eyes focused on Tezuka. "There were pressure spots on Hiyoshi's wrist and his neck. I couldn't have made those with only 1 free hand."

Hiyoshi's eyes flamed up. "You've talked to that little rat, didn't you?"

"That is no explanation, mr. Shiraishi." Tezuka defended coolly.

"hmpf.. So naive." kirihara commented.  "Tezuka-san... you're left handed right?"

Tezuka frowned. "Yes... yes, I am. What about it?"

"If I recall well, Hiyoshi Shiraishi stood on your left side, did he not?"

The people in the court nodded agreeing.

"So that means the most logic thing for you to do is to press against his neck with your left hand and take his wrist with right."

"... it could have been reversed aswell." Ibu defended.

"That so? He would have to cross his hands. No idiot would do that if he wants to restrain someone. So if his left hand pressed against the neck, he could have still be holding the gun, no?"

"Objection..." Ibu mumbled. "When the police entered, Tezuka was holding the gun in his right hand."

"Yeah, I'd do the same. To hold the gun out of reach from the victim, of course."

Tezuka grunted. It’s true that he had pressed the throat with his left hand, then took the gun with his right. Being left handed proved to be quite inconvenient this time.

There should be something. Something to get a not guilty verdict. But as the case lasted on, things seemed to be more desperate by the minute.

If only Fuji was here with him....

 

"Well then, does the defense have anything else to add?"

Ibu just mumbled to himself.

"I see no reason to drag this case on any further, then. I announce the suspect-"

"Hold that thought!"

............

All eyes turned to the door opening. A person had entered the courtroom. A person far too recognizable for the crowd.

A black cape, a white mask, a small red tie.

Tsubame!

With a radiant smirk, the thief paced into the court room.

Tezuka saw that both Oshitari and the boy with him had grabbed their gun and tried to get to Tsubame.

The judge stopped them, though.

"Hoh~, This is interesting. Tell us what you have to say, mr. Tsubame." From the tone of the judge's voice, it was clear she was a fan.

Tsubame chuckled lightly. "There is not much I'll be having to say, miss." He held a small device in front of the bailiff. "I believe this will do the talking for me." Tsubame turned to the judge. "I wish to present a piece of evidence. Will you accept it to the court?"

"Sure, go right ahead. This could actually get interesting."

The bailiff took the item and hand it over to Ibu. Without further word and a little fussing with the device, he pressed the on button.

The voices displayed sounded rusty, but it was clear that they were Hiyoshi Shiraishi and photographer Fuji Syuusuke.

_"......So what?.... So what if it was me?"_

_"Excuse me?"_

_"You have no clue what happened. You don't know what it's like when your dad simply declines you out of his life all of a sudden. We had so many plans together! But he found out I wasn't his child and so he started to hate me."_

_"Don't worry... I know just how complicated a parent's love is...."_

_"I wasn't even planning to kill him! It was her I wanted to have dead!"_

_"So you killed Ann aswell...."_

_"What are you going to do about it? It's your word against mine. And the pathetic little evidence you have can be easily overthrown by my lawyer."_

_"............."_

Fuji had stood up. "t-This is-..."

Hiyoshi grit his teeth.

"Anything to add, mr. Shiraishi?" Ibu asked.

"........." Hiyoshi lowered his head. "....... I don't..."

"Wait, so, he was an illegitimate child and so he killed his dad?" Kirihara tried to find a way to safe his case. "That makes no sense!"

"Ann had headed for her husband's office. She had left too early for Hiyoshi to meet her there, though. So he accidentally hit the person who still was there: Kuranosuke Shiraishi." Another person had appeared in the door.

"a-Akutsu..." Hiyoshi glared at the butler.

Without any courtesy, Akutsu walked over to Hiyoshi and smacked a piece of paper in front of the boy.

"You've made a big mistake, brat. I found a blood test in one of your dad's drawers. There's no mistake that you're his son. tseh... such a hassle over nothing."

"..w...why did you...?"

"I was looking for something completely different. Don’t think I did it for you, brat! tseh!" He left with a harsh bang of the door.

"tsk....." Hiyoshi glared to the ground. His hands balled up into fists, shaking. "...damn it..... damn it all...."

The court had fallen silent. Then, the judge raised her voice.

"uhuhm.... I believe that the end of this case is clear now. I hereby announce the suspect not guilty!"

 

The curtains of the window waved in the wind. No one had noticed when Tsubame had left. The only thing clear was that he had saved the day.

Tezuka walked up to Fuji, who smiled to him. "Congratulations."

"Ahh....hn?" Tezuka glanced over towards Oshitari and the boy, who was throwing a fuss. Fuji's eyes narrowed. "I'll..... be right back..." Fuji left the courtroom.

"A splendid performance, Tezuka-san." Yagyuu approached him. "Quite remarkable that even Tsubame came to your rescue..."

"ahh.... I didn't quite expect it....Yagyuu, do you know who's that boy, together with Oshitari?"

"hn?" Yagyuu glanced over to Oshitari and the boy. "ah... if I'm correct, that's-"

"Sorry for the wait!" Fuji rushed back up to them. "hn?" Fuji gazed over towards the boy aswell, then smiled and waved. "Yuuta!"

The boy, Yuuta, glared in their direction. "Bro?" he left Oshitari's side and walked up to them. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm this guy's colleague." Fuji gave a small nudge against Tezuka's chest.

"That so? hmpf..." Yuuta glared over to Tezuka. "You seemed to be on good feet with Tsubame."

Tezuka adjusted his glasses. "I'm following him for my articles, is all."

"ah..." Yuuta then looked back at Fuji again. "I'll be assigned to do the same soon too. I'll be promoted to the same level as Oshitari."

Fuji just smiled. "That's nice..."

Yuuta grunted. "Don't look down on me."

Fuji frowned. "I....don't mean it like that....."

"In any case, don't walk in my way on the scenes when I'm leading the case, okay?" with those words, Yuuta walked off.

"Are you on bad terms with your brother?" Tezuka asked as Yuuta had left. Fuji smiled a little sore.

"Not really... He's always like this. He's a good boy at heart..... In any case," Fuji turned to Tezuka, clasping his hands together. "Let's leave this place and go celebrate. We won the case."

"ahh..."

"Yagyuu-san, are you coming along?"

"I'll pass," Yagyuu replied, "I probably need to go and save that idiot from a tree or something. Have a nice day..." Yagyuu turned and left as well.

"then it'll just be the two of us, neh, Tezuka?" Fuji casually took both Tezuka's hands and started pulling him along.

Tezuka nodded. He threw one last glance to the door where Yuuta had left through.... That boy, Fuji's brother... He might be the cause of trouble later, if Tsubame won't be careful.


End file.
